The ‘sign of Jonah’

March 01, Wednesday of the First Week of Lent
Jonah 3: 1-10; Luke 11:29-32  

One of the attitudes we strongly associate with Lent is repentance. This is what the readings today remind us of. In the First Reading, we hear the story of the reluctant prophet Jonah who first had to be converted himself, before he could fulfill his calling: to bring the ruler and the people of Nineveh back to the Lord. And that is why in the responsorial psalm today, we pray parts of Psalm 50 asking the Lord for a clean, repentant heart.

But the goal of our repentance is not simply for self-cleansing. We repent because we have not been faithful in recognizing and following Jesus, our Lord – the One who is greater than Jonah, wiser than Solomon, as proclaimed in the Gospel today. Jesus, differently from Jonah, manifested in his person and life choices his perfect love for the Father and us. His commitment to our salvation led him to the supreme sacrifice, to the point of being hanged like a criminal. But his story did not end in his being buried in the belly of the earth. Jesus is risen, his love is being proclaimed up to now, everywhere in the world, transforming lives and liberating peoples!

The ‘sign of Jonah’ is only a point of departure for us. Part of the life of repentance is to truly recognize that Jesus is greater than Jonah. The life that Jesus offers, the life of ‘returning’ to the real God, does not lead to sadness and self-depreciation. It is a call to let God’s true image shine in our lives and persons. Let us pray for the gift of repentance so that we can see Jesus ‘more clearly, love him more dearly and follow him more nearly.’ (St. Richard of Chichester)